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Avoid diagnostic errors to cut back on patient harm, costly malpractice

07/29/2019

Delaying or making an error in a patient’s diagnosis can prove disastrous to the patient’s health and put your practice at risk for high-dollar malpractice claims. But staying extra alert to high-risk conditions, such as cancer, and closing the feedback loop can help you avoid costly outcomes.

Prep with training, forms for when you ‘go the limit’ on suicidal patients

07/29/2019

by: Roy Edroso

Prepare providers and staff for suicidal patients with a policy that backs them up when it becomes necessary to transfer these patients to appropriate psychiatric care — even against the patient’s wishes.

Crack codes at your own peril: Beware increased scrutiny of unbundled codes

07/29/2019

by: Marla Durben Hirsch

Review your claims to ensure that you’re not making bundling errors. The government has ramped up its review and enforcement of this problem.

Providers leaving notes unsigned? Let them attest — or make them work weekends

07/29/2019

by: Roy Edroso

Question: Some of my doctors are signing their charts for claims very late — weeks, even months late. Can I submit these claims? If a chart is signed too long after the encounter, is it invalidated?

Pivot to E/M codes when ear-wax removal fails to get the job done

07/29/2019

by: Richard Scott

Question: I have a common scenario that I encounter that I don’t know how to report. If my provider performs a technique to irrigate impacted cerumen in the clinic, but the removal of ear wax is not actually achieved, can I still report CPT code 69209 (Removal impacted cerumen using irrigation/lavage, unilateral)?

Blocked: Cerumen-removal revenue falls despite gains in 69209 claims

07/29/2019

by: Richard Scott

Practices are seeing a downward trend in revenue for cerumen-removal services even as the total number of claims was buoyed in recent years with the arrival of CPT code 69209 (Removal impacted cerumen using irrigation/lavage, unilateral).

Bills take aim at CCM co-pays; you can expand now with a personal approach

07/22/2019

by: Richard Scott

Should new legislation prove successful, you could sail directly into chronic care management (CCM) services without charging your patients a co-pay, a factor that many practices and medical societies consider an obstacle to ramping up these types of care coordination efforts.

Collapse of rebate safe harbor rule suggests Trump may go all-in on drug price fixing: Experts

07/22/2019

by: Roy Edroso

In a surprise move, the Trump Administration withdrew a rule it had described as important to its mission to reduce drug prices.

Fill in the gaps as deadline for new Medicare card numbers closes in

07/22/2019

by: Roy Edroso

You’re officially within six months of the Medicare beneficiary identifier (MBI) switch deadline. To ensure a smooth transition, check your patients, check the record and, if necessary, talk to the relevant vendors.

CMS’ billing watchdog sets its sights on E/M encounters in family practice

07/22/2019

by: Richard Scott

Keep an eye on the level of your E/M encounters, along with the total amount of claims, because auditing bodies are doing just that. A recent Comparative Billing Reports (CBR) assessment lobbed cautionary letters at family practice providers whose E/M trends bucked the norm.

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